Abstract
The prevalence of health issues differs from one group of individuals to another. It has, for example, been determined that the rate of suicide is high among veterans than that of the general population. The main reason for this is combat-related guilt, which translates to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During their combat activity, military personnel kills several opponent soldiers. The memory of killing a human being makes them feel guilt after they have returned home. The guilt mainly comes from the view that they have sinned against God since religious doctrines prohibit any person from killing another human being. The veterans get depressed, which is why they decide to take their lives.
A part from combat guilt, the high suicide rate among soldiers, is as a result of lifelong injuries. Some of the injuries that the soldiers sustain while in the combat zones are those that turn them into disabled individuals. A few of the soldiers, for instance, lose both of their limbs, and this makes them begin using wheelchairs just like disabled people. Those soldiers that find this new life to be uncomfortable choose to end their life. The soldiers do this because they are not used to living in a wheelchair. They view that death is a better option than being confined in a wheelchair. Whereas most soldiers suffer physical injuries, there are those that suffer from brain damage. The brain damage here could be caused by exposure to toxic chemicals during combat. Some of the brain damages are so serious that some soldiers find themselves unable to recognize their loved ones or perform simple tasks like bathing.
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Health Disparities
Health disparities refer to health status variations observed among different groups in a given population. These variations are clear when, for instance, comparing the rate of suicide among the veterans and that of the general population. Existing research indicates that the rate of suicide is high among the ex-military population than in the general population. One of the reasons that have been given to explain this health disparity is combat-related guilt, which gives rise to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Health disparities are also evident when comparing privileged and unprivileged groups. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the problem of health disparity can be solved. Health disparity needs to be solved because it promotes unfairness in a population. A group of individuals that is prone to diseases is, for instance, more likely to lead a poor lifestyle when compared to that which is less prone (Adler, 2016). This is because members of this group will spend a lot of financial resources in trying to fight the diseases.
The importance of outlining ways that can be employed to solve the problem of health disparities is that this move will equip veterans with the essential knowledge and skills on how to deal with challenges likely to cause them psychological distress. One of the things that prevent many veterans from taking personal measures to end the problem of health disparities is the lack of knowledge on how to approach this issue. The negative impact of this is that it influences many veterans to leave it to the government to solve the issue (Betancourt, 2016). Fighting health disparities will enable all people to pursue their life purpose without getting hampered by illnesses.
Existing research indicates that 17.7% of United States veterans are more prone to suicide related mental disorders than the rest of the population (Carter, 2016). One reason for this is that most individuals of this population are involved in combat activities. Members of this group find it hard to go and seek psychological counselling services. This is usually due to the reasoning that such services will not eliminate the fact that they killed. The soldiers also reason that the counselling services will not be able to return them into their previous physical body. The solders that reason this way are those that have sustained lifelong injuries. (Carter, 2016).
While veterans live in less crowded areas, members of the general population groups live in highly crowded areas, which places them in a better position of socializing and therefore avoiding psychological stress. Living in less crowded places makes many veterans to spend most of their times in solitude. The impact of this kind of life is that it makes them to begin thinking of what happened to them. As the veterans think about what happened to them, they begin seeing their problem to be so big. (Herek, 2016). The problems that the veterans are contemplating over becomes big in their mind to an extent that it makes them to choose to end their lives.
Health conditions impacting the veteran groups include brain damage and lifelong injuries. Most of the brain damages suffered by veterans lead to stroke. The veterans that develop stroke as a result of brain damage begin relying on their loved ones to help them perform such activities as bathing and going to the toilet. The negative impact of this reliance is that it makes the veterans feel that they are disturbing or inconveniencing their loved ones. The veterans view that they do not need to make their loved ones suffer when they have only few years left to die. The realization that they have few years to live makes them to choose to end their lives.
Ways in which Social Inequalities Cause Health Disparities
Social inequalities cause health disparities in the sense that veterans with multiple sources of income can afford medical fees while those relying on pension stay untreated since it is low. The negative impact of leaving the underlying illnesses untreated is that it makes the health conditions to worsen. Some poor veterans not able to afford medical fees resort to using herbal medicine, which is not effective in most cases. In addition to using herbal medicine, some poor veterans resort to religious intervention to cure their mental illnesses. This explains why the death rate in the veteran population is high (Laposky, 2016). Employed individuals afford medical fees because of the income that they earn.
Second, wealthy veterans have high access to health information than those relying on pension in society. Some of the health information comes from media such as newspaper and television. Most of the poor veterans do not have money to buy newspapers containing information about health. High access to health information by wealthy veterans, in this case, implies that members of this group are more likely to take personal measures to protect themselves from common illnesses (Manrai, 2016). The poor veterans are less likely to take action since they are not equipped with the knowledge on how to protect themselves. Some of them are not aware of health issues.
The third way in which social inequalities cause health disparities is that unequal distribution of wealth makes some areas have more mental health facilities than others. Veterans living in areas with high number of health facilities are more likely to visit them when distressed while those in areas with less mental health facilities have lower chances of visiting mental health professionals. One of the things that contribute to the unequal distribution of wealth is discrimination. This could be based on race or even ethnicity. An area that is, for example, predominantly occupied by white individuals may be allocated more wealth when compared to that which is occupied by black people (Mein Goh, 2016). This translates to the disparity.
Fourth, members of a veteran kinship mainly made up of wealthy individuals are more likely to afford medical fees when compared to those from a kinship that is mainly made up of poor individuals. This is base on the reasoning that any new individual born in the kinship will inherit the wealth from the parents of this group. What this means is that most members born in a wealthy kinship are more likely to afford medical fees even when they are not employed (Pearcy, 2016). This is because they can use the wealth that they inherited.
Policies that can help solve the problem of Health Disparity
One of the policies that can help reduce health disparities is a regulation aimed at ensuring equal distribution of wealth. The advantage of this strategy is that it will help ensure that all areas have adequate mental health facilities. What the policymakers need to ensure that wealth is distributed fairly. Fair distribution of wealth, in this case, means that wealth should be distributed as per the number of people living in a population. What this means is that areas with high population should receive high wealth allocation when compared to those with less population (Thornton, 2016). Even though this from the outside appears to be a way of discrimination, the move helps ensure that wealth is equally distributed.
The second policy that can help reduce health disparities in the law aimed at reducing the number of family members. The benefit of this is that it will help ensure that veterns have enough money to fund their medical bills. Typically, having a high number of family dependants increases the expenses of a family. The task of supporting the members becomes tough when the parents who the children are supposed to depend on are not able to afford the school fees. This is mainly caused by unemployment. The significance of creating policies that regulate the number of family dependants is that this move helps improve the living standards of the few members (Williams, 2016). Improved living standards, in this case, include having good health.
Other than the policy of reducing the number of family members, health disparities can be reduced by a law aimed at increasing industrialization. Increased industrialization will attract many settlers increasing the establishment of mental health facilities. The positive impact of industrialization, in this case, is that it will help create employment opportunities. The created employment opportunities will enable individuals to earn some income at the end of the month. The incomes earned will be used to seek medical attention. Employees will also be able to live in clean environments. This refers to those environments with less pathogen. Living in these kinds of environments will reduce illness cases (Veale, 2017). This will further contribute to increased savings.
Another policy that can help reduce health disparities in the regulation aimed at promoting health education among the people. One of the things that are currently preventing people from taking personal measures regarding their health is lack of information and awareness. Some of the people are, for instance, not aware that the level of cleanliness of the environment that they are living in is directly related to cases of diseases. This especially applies to those individuals that believe that diseases are a punishment from God (Adler, 2016). Lack of appropriate information about diseases hinders individuals from taking preventive measures to protect themselves from diseases.
Strategies that can help solve the problem of Health Disparity
The best intervention to the health disparity challenges is subsidizing the health sector to make it affordable to all. One of the things that have contributed to the high cost of medication is the ever-increasing rate of inflation. Increasing the rate of inflation has contributed to the increased cost of living, which in turn takes away money that is supposed to be used to seek medical services. What usually happens in a case where the cost of medication is high is that this limits health care to wealthy individuals (Betancourt, 2016). Subsidizing the health sector will help ensure that all people can afford medical services.
Second, health disparities can be solved by constructing health facilities in remote areas to solve access disparity. Many health facilities tend to be located in an urban area. One reason for this is that urban areas have a high number of people. The demand for health services in these areas is high, and so many private investors choose to use this as an opportunity to establish health facilities so that they can generate profits. The other reason is that many health care professionals prefer to stay in urban areas (Carter, 2016). This influences many investors to establish health facilities in urban areas.
The third intervention to the health disparity challenge is improving the quality of health care in all facilities. Individuals located in areas where the quality of health care services is low are less likely to recover from the health issues that they are facing. This low inability to recover from diseases implies that these individuals have high chances of losing their lives. One of the things that contribute to low quality in healthcare facilities is poor education systems (Herek, 2016). What this means is that it is important to compel the government to improve education standards.
Fourth, health disparities can be solved by increasing the number of prevention workforce. This refers to the personnel that campaign to equip the public with information on how they can protect themselves from diseases. The significance of educating the people on how they can protect themselves from diseases is that this saves them from incurring high medical expenses that are associated with diseases. One of the reasons that enable the prevention workforce to easily persuade the public to take preventive measures is the fact that this group is made up of health professionals (Krieger, 2016). These experts use researched information to educate the public.
Apart from increasing the number of prevention workforce, health disparities can be solved by employing diverse health professionals. The importance of this move is that it will help reduce discrimination when it comes to the delivery of health care services. Employing health professionals from one race, for instance, increases the chances of discrimination. What happens is that individuals stop going to the health facilities once they experience health disparities (Laposky, 2016). This is even in cases of sickness. The reason for failing to seek medication, in this case, is the fear of discrimination for the second time.
One more intervention that can help solve health disparities is strengthening national efforts. Government efforts can be strengthened through such ways as spreading health information through word of mouth. In any case, the government is conducting health campaigns to educate the public on how they can best protect themselves from an emerging health issue; the citizens can spread this information to those people that have not to hear. This is especially to the disabled people in society (Manrai, 2016). Spreading health information through word of mouth will influence many people to take personal action. This is especially when the information comes from a trusted friend or family member.
Explanation of the Model
Identify Stakeholders
The process of identifying stakeholders will involve pinpointing the people that will affect or be affected by the strategy. The people that will, for instance, be affected by the strategies will be the patients. This category of stakeholders will be affected in the sense that they will begin to receive high-quality healthcare services. The importance of this is that it will enable them to recover quickly from the illness that they will be suffering from. The main stakeholder that will affect or influence the strategies is the government (Mein Goh, 2016). If the government, for instance, delays are releasing funds, implementation of the strategies will delay.
The significance of engaging all stakeholders, in this case, is that this move will help provide an opportunity for them to share their views. There will be a pool of ideas since each stakeholder will propose the challenges faced. The importance of doing this is that it will enable the head of the team that will be tasked with implementing the strategies to select the best idea. This refers to the idea that it will be more effective in bringing about the desired change (Pearcy, 2016). The best idea will reduce the time taken to achieve the desired goals.
To effectively engage the identified stakeholders, it is important to find out the things that motivate them. This is important for the reason that it will influence the stakeholders to be self-driven. What usually happens is that being self-driven enables individuals to perform their duties without having to be followed up and down. A lot is achieved in cases where stakeholders are performing their duties without waiting for their supervisors to push them to do so (Thornton, 2016). Stakeholders who push themselves to perform their duties put in more effort than those that wait for supervisors.
Set Goals
The importance of setting goals, in this case, is that it will help provide a basis for making decisions. What this means is that each time the task force will be making decisions; they will have to refer to the direction that they are required to move to before making the decisions. This will prevent the task force from engaging in activities that do not contribute to the realization of the goals that have been set (Williams, 2016). Typically, engaging in irrelevant activities contribute to the wastage of time and financial resources. Time wastage prolongs the time taken to achieve the desired goals.
The other importance of setting goals is that it will ease the processes of evaluating the performance of the employees and also that it will motivate stakeholders to put in more effort, which will translate to improved performance. During the process of evaluation, for instance, the main thing that will be looked for is whether the goals that were set have been achieved. (Veale, 2017).This especially applies to short term goals. In any case, it will be determined that the short term goals have not been achieved; this will be taken to mean that the project is not on its course.
Define the Deliverables
It will be important to define the services that will be produced as a result of the strategies that are being implemented. The strategy to eliminate health disparities will, for instance, translate to medical services in those areas where new facilities will be established and software to help ease the delivery of health services. Delivering medical services in areas that have for a very long time never had a health facility will prevent the residents from having to travel over long distances to search for these essential services (Adler, 2016). Incorporating technological services in the delivery of the health care services will prevent time wastage.
Create a Schedule
The significance of creating a schedule, in this case, is that it will help ensure good time management. A schedule will list all the activities that need to be undertaken for the set goals and objectives to be achieved. The schedule will define the amount of time that is required for each activity. The significance of this is that it will prevent the team members from spending a lot of time in one activity (Betancourt, 2016). The negative impact of spending too much time in one activity is that it will waste the time that needs to be spending on other activities.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
The reason for conducting a risk assessment will be to formulate preventive measures. Typically, there are risks that can be identified before any project is implemented. The importance of this identification is that it contributes to the formulation of measures to divert the project from experiencing the risks. What this means is that the project will not be hindered by the risks (Carter, 2016). One of the things that hampered many projects is risks which they face. Other than preventive measures, the other strategies that will be formulated will be those that will be aimed at reducing the impact of the risks.
Implement Project
Implementing the project will involve translating the plan into action. This is the process that will lead to the realization of the set goals and objectives. During the rolling out exercise, it will be important to divide responsibilities to all the stakeholders. At the time of dividing the responsibilities, it is important to evaluate the responsibilities just to ensure that none of them has been repeated. This will be to prevent confusion among the stakeholders when they are undertaking their duties (Herek, 2016). All the parts of the plan will have to be implemented as required.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The purpose of monitoring and evaluation will be to pinpoint challenges that are being experienced in the implementation of the strategies. The importance of pointing out and then solving the challenges is that this move will make the project to be more the project more effective. One of the indicators that will be used to tell whether the project is effective is the rate at which the short term goals are being achieved (Krieger, 2016). In any case, the rate of achieving the goals will be slow; this will be taken to mean that there are hidden challenges that are still hindering the project from being effective.
To conclude, Health disparities are health status variations observed among different groups in a given population. The importance of outlining ways that can be employed to solve the problem of health disparities is that this move will equip veterans with the essential knowledge and skills hence on how to deal with challenges likely to cause them psychological distress. Health conditions impacting the veteran groups include brain damage and lifelong injuries. Social inequalities cause health disparities in the sense that veterans with multiple sources of income can afford medical fees while those relying on pension stay untreated since it is low. A few of the policies that can help reduce health disparities include regulation aimed at ensuring equal distribution of wealth and the law aimed at reducing the number of family members.
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